Council’s Bears Way cycle lane project gets award

The council’s controversial ‘Bears Way’ project along the A81 Milngavie Road has been given a prestigious national award.

The council says that according to surveys they have carried out there were over 1,000 trips every week on phase one of Bears Way between January and June 2016.

East Dunbartonshire Council’s ‘Bears Way’, which provides protected space for children and families to cycle - has won a Scottish Transport Award for ‘Achievements in Cycling’.

The award - organised by Transport Times and supported by the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland -

celebrates industry achievements.

Phase one of the Bears Way project was funded by council partners Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) and Sustrans.

Councillor Alan Moir, convener of development and regeneration, said: “This award is a great honour and I want to pay tribute to the team involved for their hard work to provide protected cycle space for children, families and people of all ages.

“It’s important to bear in mind that only the first phase is complete at the moment, nevertheless there is strong evidence to suggest that people who previously would never have considered cycling on the A81 are now doing so.

“This is an ongoing project and we are working hard to ensure that it works for everyone - residents, traders and visitors - whatever mode of transport they choose.

“Well done to everyone involved within East Dunbartonshire Council and our partner organisations for their efforts and support.”

Modelling and design work is currently underway to help inform future phases - with a report being brought back to the appropriate council committee.

The council claims that ‘full engagement and consultation took place on phase one’ they say ‘this will be continued with future phases’.